Travel Memorabilia Overload

We just recently got back from the North Georgia mountains. It was the first time in months that we took our beloved Hello Kitty along with us on a trip. We took her to our hike so we can snap her picture in front of the waterfalls. I have to admit that I miss taking her to our trips. When my daughter was just a baby, I had this crazy idea that this brown stuffed toy will travel everywhere with us so I started taking snapshots of her. She's become my daughter's companion through the busy subway stations of Rome, croissant-filled-air of Paris, and fireworks-lit-skies of Disney World. She even has her own album of adventures. And this is the first idea I will throw out there if you are wondering of a tradition you can do while on the go. Aside from taking family pictures and selfies while traveling, here are some tips to preserve your memories.

 1. Take pictures of your kids lovey or toy at every place you visit. Hello Kitty is almost a ruler length, but super light. Think of luggage space when deciding which toy to take. If only my then-baby would not swallow a Lego, it would have been my choice of toy to photograph. You can also take pictures of your own baby up close. In my experience, this is a much harder option because babies tend to look horrified when bright lights flash at them and you will go to jail for holding your baby out onto the bridge with one arm.

 

2. Write a postcard to your child. When I started doing this, I used to opt to have a collectible stamp affixed to it before sending it off to my home. By the time we got home, the postcard would be waiting in the mailbox with the post office stamp making it official. I would write to them telling them of the places we visited and how it was. I then put them in a shadow box type frame with the rest of them near the front door. I imagine my kids reading through the experiences they had growing up someday.

3. Journal/Agenda. If you already keep a planner, write a quick entry as to how your travels are going on each day. If you journal, write away. I also like to sketch different pictures.

4. Buy some cool Magnets. One side of our fridge faces an entrance, so it's where we stick all of our magnets. We move so much that I try to only buy the ones with non-breakable materials. If I only had the front facing door available, I would opt to buy a frame like my postcard shadow box to make it more uniformed.

5. Shot glasses and Mugs. We did this for ourselves. I have tons of mugs while the husband has tons of shot glasses. There is only one mug I really want to add to my collection and I told myself, I won't buy another one after it. It is the Starbucks Disneyland Anniversary mug. These are not just for decor, I like using them from time to time for the purposes they are for - coffee and shots :).

You probably wondered in the beginning why I titled this overload. These are literally the things I do every single time we go somewhere. It's a bit of a stretch, but I've gotten used to it that now it's become a habit - sans mugs. In addition to pictures to sort through, I reserve time and money for these, especially the postcards, every single time, because I want to pass them down to my children one day. What about you? How do you keep the memories of your travels?